The Portland daily press., 1887-02-14
A Question OF Taxation.

Tonight the legislative committee on legal
affairs will give hearing to all interested in
the taxation Of such properties of educa-
tional. religious and charitable institutions
as are used for business purposes Under
the law at present such properties are ex-
empt from taxation, and the question to-
night will be whether or not it is advisable
to change this long established policy. The
agitation Of this question is not new to our
legislative assemblies; for years it has come
up with great regularity often because there
has existed dissatisfaction in localities where
the assessors looked with enyious eyes on
the property of some wealthy school or
.church. Pennington is undoubtedly the
source Of the present movement. The Bel
cher estate comprises a large amount of
real estate in Pennington village, which is
likely to pass, by the terms of the will to
Bates College. This property. of course.
should Bates College continue to hold it.
would be beyond the reach of taxation, leav-
ing the burden to be distributed on the rest of
the towns deprecated property Here are
possibilities of undoubted hardship and in
justice; and hence comes an agitation for
change in the law. But the question is much
broader than the case of Pennington. There
is principle involved in the law as it now
stands, and change in the law will involve
departure from this principle. The force
OF the principle will be best understood by
observing the broad distinction between
property held by religious, charitable or
educational corporations, and the property
held by all other corporations or by private
individuals The incomes derived from the
property of private persons and of ordinary
corporations go directly to certain indivi-
duals. The gains are private gains, used for
private purposes, and held as private
boards. 1t is just that such properties
should be taxed But religious, educational
and charitable institutions do not apply the
incomes derived from their properties to the
enrichment of individuals. but to the en-
lghtenment, the aid and the comfort of the
public. While they do not pay to
municipalities or the State q direct tax in
money, they pay, there is no reason to doubt.
a far more valuable tribute in making the
citizens of the State more intelligent. or
more comfortable under unavoidable aflic
tons, or morally better through the opera
tons Of religious influence. Bearing in mind
ehAo hAobluStlOl, b16 is IRE
sistable that the principle of our present law
is correct. Whether there ought not to be a
limit to the amount of income paying proper
ty which an institution may hold exempt
from taxation, whether there should not be
devised some method whereby in case like
that of Pennington, a large block of taxable
property could not be relieved Of taxes to the
detriment of neighboring property owners
already bearing all the burdens they ought
to stand, are questions Of detail which pos
sibly the wisdom of the legislature may de-
wise some means Of settling without impair
ing the general principle. II is conceivable
that college might get possession of all the
business blocks in a village, as several are
now held in this city, and thereby throw
upon the people Of one town the burden
which reason dictates should be distributed
as evenly as possible upon the people of the
whole state. Pennington might send no stu
dents to Bates, nor enjoy the presence within
its limits of a single teacher, or minister, or